Daughters of Darkness
| image = Daughters of Darkness Cover.jpeg | imagewidth = 250 | caption = Night World #2 | author = L. J. Smith | illustrator = | date = 1996 (first published) 2008 (republished as omnibus edition) | publisher = Pocket Books (first edition) Simon Pulse (omnibus edition) | isbn = | previous = Secret Vampire | next = Spellbinder }} Daughters of Darkness is the second novel in the Night World series by L. J. Smith. Summary Mary-Lynnette, seventeen, loves to watch the stars from her Oregon backyard. Then one day, she thinks she’s witnessed a murder through her telescope. However, she’s wrong: it’s only three vampire sisters burying their mysteriously-killed aunt. Mary-Lynnette, by the laws of the Night World, must become kin to the sisters or be sentenced to death: a sentence that seems to be sealed when their brother Ash appears. Gorgeous, lazy Ash has never dreamed that he could fall in love with a human, but it seems that Mary-Lynnette doesn't want him on any terms because of his lurid vampire past. Can a now-repentant Ash convince Mary-Lynnette to let him atone for his former sins and be his soulmate? Plot Mary-Lynnette Carter loves to watch the stars from her backyard. One usual star-gazing night, she thinks she saw her nearest neighbour, Aunt Opal murder. There are three girls behaving suspiciously, burying some big bulk at Aunt Opal’s backyard. After persuading her older brother Roger to accompany her to make further investigation, it is reveals that they see a lot more than they expected to be. The three sisters, Rowan, Kestrel and Jade Redfern are actually vampires and Mary-Lynette and Mark see them hunting animal first hand. The Redfern sisters put a condition that they must agree to a blood sister if the Carters’ siblings do not wish to die a painful death. The contract of blood sister ensures the siblings to not tell anyone about the vampires. The eldest sister, Rowan proposes this since both Jade and Roger have fallen in love in each other, with Jane claiming Mark is her soulmate. The next big rule in the Night World is never to kill another’s soulmate, as the consequences can be bad. After the blood pact finishes, both the Carter siblings and the Redfern sisters went to Aunt Opal’s house. There, they all are configuring who could have killed Aunt Opal using a wood. Since only a Night Worlder would know that wood is lethal to vampire. The Redfern sisters suspect that it was their older brother Ash, whom had killed Aunt Opal, knowing the sisters will come to Aunt Opal’s farm house to escape from the Night World rules. The next day, Mary-Lynette receives a guest. It is actually Ash Redfern, the older brother of the Redfern sisters. Mary-Lynette have instant dislike when she sees Ash, unaware of the soulmate bond between them that is actually responsible to make both of them uncomfortable, even if it is just the first time they have ever meet. Ash, languid as ever, tries to remain aloof despite feeling something inside. When both of them have skin contact, a sharp feeling inflicted both of them. This resulted in Mary-Lynette kicking Ash in his shin and then telling him to step out of her house. Ash, the ever famous Redfern realises what happened back then. He is so confused when he knew that this means Mary-Lynette is his soulmate. After all this time when he only thought of human as his food, now he had a shocking truth lie in front of him. He then decided to visit his sisters at Aunt Opal’s house. There, he discovers the terrible fate than have befallen to their favourite old aunt. After dismissing the others’ suspicion that he was not the one responsible for the murder, they all search together who the real killer is. They found out that the murder was actually done by the local werewolf, Jeremy Lovett, whose only reason doing that is to protect his territory from being trespassing. The town where they live is actually quite small and the local area is not big enough for 4 hunters living in the same area. The Lovett family have also been living there for generations, long enough to have the local forest named as Mad Dog Creek. When things have all settles down, Ash have to leave Mary-Lynette behind since he have to amend his dark past with humans. Even though they are soulmate, Mary-Lynette insists that they separate for Ash to deal with his dark past, and only return later when he is ready. This is the second story in the Night World Omnibus volume published in 2008 and also the second book in the Night World series. External Links *L. J. Smith's Official Website **Bibliography **Booklist Category:Night World Series